Master Chief Sucks at Ordering
Master Chief Sucks at Ordering, officially abbreviated as MCSAO, is a Youtube series by UltraHyperShadow. The series follows Master Chief, a rude and obnoxious SPARTAN supersoldier, and his friends and enemies as he attempts to save the world from various forces while teaching the viewer "valuable life information." Inspired by the "Master Chief Sucks at Halo" series by DigitalPH33R, the series has since gone on to become one of the most popular successor shows and has inspired countless parodies and spoofs. Production Conception The user DigitalPH33R uploaded a video called "Master Chief sucks at Halo" in the summer of 2007, spawning a Youtube phenomenon. He created two sequels and a sequel series called Arby 'n' the Chief. The videos, a mix of machinima and live action, involve an action figure of Master Chief, the protagonist of the Halo series, who in these videos is vulgar and stupid, has poor spelling and grammar, and is rude and unhelpful to others. In October of 2007, UltraHyperShadow decided to try his hand at the concept after watching a spinoff video called "Master Chief sucks at plumbing" by Ninjaadventures, originally intending to make a video called "Mudkip sucks at Pokemon." However, he later went with the Master Chief idea, creating "Master Chief sucks at ordering McDonalds." The video was a hit and spawned a series of videos. Currently, Master Chief Sucks at Ordering is one of the most popular Master Chief Sucks series on Youtube. Episode format After the success of the first video, a trilogy was planned, then expanded to a quadrilogy (series of four). After a four month hiatus, the series was renewed with new episodes, usually released every two weeks. After ten episodes were released (one being a remake of the first episode and the finale being two episodes released the same day), season 1 was concluded in May 2008. The series follows the "September/October to May" format that many TV shows follow. After the conclusion of season 1, "minisodes" were announced to be released over the course of the summer of 2008. These minisodes are short episodes (although they are actually longer than some videos in the main series) that introduce new characters that will feature in season 2. They were inspired by the "mobisodes" released between seasons 3 and 4 of Lost. The second season began in September 2008 and ran for twelve episodes (one being another remake and the finale being two released the same day), concluding in May 2009. Additionally, on the series' one year anniversary, a special two part movie was released, detailing Master Chief's backstory. Season 2 features many new characters, a more complex plotline, and better fight scenes. After the conclusion of season 2, a new spinoff series called Meet the Ancients was announced to be released over the course of the summer of 2009. The series is a prequel to the main series and introduces new characters who appear in season 3. Master Chief Sucks at Ordering is unusual among "Master Chief Sucks" videos because it has a connected, dramatic plot in addition to traditional videos where Master Chief gives poor advice. The concept of having a large cast of characters from many video games, some based on real life, is similar to the concept used by T3H Metroid Galaxy. Other similarities between the two series include mysterious leaders, characters coming back to life for no reason, deus ex machinas, and a mix between comedy and drama. Creation A number of programs are used to make episodes of the series. Initially, Windows Movie Maker, a basic movie editing program bundled with Microsoft Windows, was used for season 1, the minisodes, and early season 2 episodes. However, Movie Maker's limitations became more problematic as season 2's plotlines became more complex, and from the fourth episode onward Sony Vegas, a professional video editing software, is used for creation of episodes. Microsoft Sound Recorder is normally used for the recording of dialogue, but the freeware program Audacity is sometimes used to edit voices or music. The Microsoft Sam, Mike, and Mary voices for the three main heroes are built-in voice synthesizers with Microsoft Windows. Other voices, such as CATS's famous voice, come from the program Talkany, while an online AT&T voice synthesizer service is used for several other characters' voices. Music The music in the series draws from many different sources. Appropriately, music from the Halo series makes frequent appearances, as does music from the TV series Lost. Music from The Dark Knight and Watchmen has also been used. "Morning Train" by Sheena Eston appears twice in the movie during humerous montage scenes. Due to the usage of Windows Movie Maker, which only allows for one audio track, during season 1 and early season 2 music during dialogue scenes was scarce. In later episodes of season 2, however, Sony Vegas is used to allow for multiple audio tracks for better music during dialogue and other scenes. Characters Main article: List of characters Initially, the only two characters on the show were Master Chief and his enemy CATS. The Arbiter, Master Chief's best friend, was added to the cast in the fifth episode of season 1 and has remained a pivotal character since. Starting with season 2, CATS was removed from the main cast as he had been killed in the first season finale, and he was replaced by the series' main villain, the King, as well as the new female hero Cortana. Starting with the fourth episode of season 2, Hillary Clinton became a main character after guest starring earlier. Beginning with season 3, Ronald McDonald became a main character while both Hillary Clinton and, notably, Cortana were removed from the main cast, casting doubt on the latter's survival of the events of the season 2 finale. Important recurring characters include members of the Network, such as Jack Thompson, L. Ron Hubbard, Tom Cruise, Chad Warden, the Angry Video Game Nerd, Chris Hansen, and Barack Obama, all of whom are dead by the end of season 2. Meet the Ancients introduced new season 3 recurring characters, including Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Reggie Fils-Aime. The role of Sergeant Johnson was also expanded in season 3. Episodes Season 1 (2007-2008) Main article: Season 1 Summary Season 1 featured 10 episodes. Master Chief is introduced as a vulgar character who attempts to help the audience with mundane, everyday problems by giving them bad, usually violent advice. An actual plotline develops when CATS, a cyborg villain, decides to try and cancel Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Master Chief later encounters other minions of CATS, like Jack Thompson and L. Ron Hubbard. Master Chief soon gets assistence from his friend, the Arbiter, while Tom Cruise is introduced for the villains. The season culminates with a battle between the heroes and the villains, ending with CATS being abruptly killed by his true leader, the King. Minisodes (2008) Main article: Minisodes Summary Five minisodes were released between seasons 1 and 2. The King captures Master Chief and begins introducing him to new villains he has recruited to his team, the Network, including Chad Warden, the Angry Video Game Nerd, and Chris Hansen. Jack Thompson and Tom Cruise also assist the King in creating a weapon of some kind. Hillary Clinton appears as a new freelance villain. Barack Obama and Cortana are introduced as new allies of Master Chief, who learns he is destined to save the world. Season 2 (2008-2009) Main article: Season 2 Summary Season 2 featured 12 episodes and a special movie. Master Chief, and later, the Arbiter, escape their captivity and reunite with Cortana. They help Obama get elected, but he is killed by Hillary Clinton. Jack Thompson is killed by the King for being useless, and he activates his superweapon, which is actually a portal to the Ark, a station that can control space and time. Master Chief begins time traveling as he tries to access the Ark with the Arbiter and Cortana, and, upon reaching the present again, attempts to help them deactivate the Ark to stop the King's plan. After another epic battle in which all of the Network members, except for the King himself, are killed, the King reveals his true intentions: he wishes to stop the Ancients, an evil group led by Ronald McDonald. Master Chief's intervention allows the Ancients to destroy the Ark, possibly killing Cortana, and launching all of the characters randomly through time. The season ends when Master Chief and the Arbiter wake up in the future. Meet the Ancients (2009) Main article: Meet the Ancients Summary Meet the Ancients is a spinoff/prequel to the main series, introducing the new characters who make up Ronald McDonald's team, the Ancients. Ronald recruits Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Reggie Fils-Aime before jumping forward in time to the end of season 2. Season 3 (2009-2010) Main article: Season 3 Summary Season 3 will feature 12 episodes and a recap. The storyline is currently unknown, but season 3 will conclude the series. Impact Master Chief Sucks at Ordering started a new wave of Master Chief Sucks videos on Youtube. Imitator videos, especially those dealing with Master Chief ordering various kinds of food, became especially popular. While DigitalPh33r invented the format, MCSAO was responsible for many of the innovations: pictures of Master Chief, random images that have nothing to do with the dialogue, violent and abrasive language, and poor advice. Some conventions in early MCSAO episodes have become running gags in successor videos, like throwing a plasma grenade through the window or being stalked while eating food. However, some videos are criticized for being too similar to Master Chief Sucks at Ordering. One video even plagarized the entire script for "Master Chief Sucks at Ordering at Restaurants" but changed some of the proper nouns; the video's comments section was raided by several MCSAO fans, resulting in the video owner disabling ratings and comments. However, one series by Zombamazomba became highly popular and continues to get high views for new episodes, having been inspired by MCSAO. Master Chief Sucks at Ordering and Zombamazomba's videos are the two highest rated Master Chief Sucks series on Youtube, and hundreds of viewers and subscribers regularly watch new episodes. External links *UltraHyperShadow on Youtube *[http://ultrahypershadow.blogspot.com UltraHyperShadow's blog, the official Master Chief Sucks at Ordering site] Category: Master Chief Sucks at Ordering